Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: camping

we want to go camping!  — May 8, 2024

we want to go camping! 

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We were hopelessly motoring around Custer State Park in South Dakota.  It had already been a long day when we finally realized that we were lost.   The park was a vast expanse – roughly 10 miles wide by 10 miles deep and our campsite was playing hide and seek with us. 

In the spirit of General Custer, I was ready to make my last stand.  So, I suddenly pulled the car up next to a construction crew and strongly exhorted my wife to ask for directions.   I wasn’t going to do it of course.

She was quite flustered, and it showed, but she stuck her head out the window and said, “Uh, we want to go camping!”  (Hmm an interesting way to ask for directions!)

Well, the man leaned back on his shovel and pondered his answer.  He said, “O really?”   Awkward!  She was embarrassed and the rest of us were entertained.

We didn’t know where we were headed.  Some of us experience that kind of confusion in the spiritual realm.

We believe that God is sovereign, and has a plan for our lives, but what we experience day-to-day doesn’t always make sense to us. 

There have been the good times which we have counted as blessings.  But there have also been some hard times sandwiched in between.  There have been seasons of plenty, but also seasons of want. 

There was that job that opened just when it was needed but it ended up in a lay off just 5 years later.  There were spans of time when the nearness of God was incredible, and other times when He seemed to be absent.

It makes us wonder, ”Lord, where are you taking me?  Help me to understand!”

Paul answered that question in Romans 8:28-29.  He wrote, “And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”  NETBible ®

Many of us have verse 28 memorized.  It’s of priceless encouragement, but it’s verse 29 that we need to consider here.  It says that “he also predestined (us) to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

The word “predestined” tells us that God’s plan for us reaches back to before we were ever born.  The word “conform” tells us that we are still an imperfect work in the process of development. 

This is His roadmap for us– a plan to conform us to the likeness of His most wonderful Son, so that we reflect His character, and operate by His ethics.  It is to value what He values, and to disdain what He rejects. The result is what the Scripture refers to as “godliness.” (1 Timothy 6:11)

It is a work that God started the day we were saved and will continue till we meet Jesus face-to-face.  Paul put it this way, “For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” –  Philippians 1:6.

In the meantime, He uses the multifaceted experiences of life to mold and make us; to sharpen us and shape us so that we resemble Jesus more today than we did yesterday.   Our character is like clay in the supple hands of The Potter. 

So, know that the issues that you face, even today are being used by God to fulfill His plan for you.

I once sat in my office with a married couple who disagreed with a pastoral decision that I had made.  She went for my jugular when she said, “We thought this church had a “godly” pastor!”   That deeply wounded me!  Fortunately, most did not share her opinion. 

But, the opinion I value the best and the character I covet the most – is that of my Savior and I am so glad He is busy producing godliness in me.

A PRAYER: Have your way in my life Lord.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Scripture references are from the NETBible.com

breaking camp — June 24, 2020

breaking camp

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It is summer and a great time to go camping, unless you live in Texas, where the heat can approach the outer limits of hell. 

Summer camping elsewhere is usually fun.  My wife and I just returned from an outing, where a fresh cool breeze wafted through our camper each night.  We had lots of relaxing time with the Lord and each other.  (that’s what happens when you leave the grandkids behind) 

Of course, some trips are not so relaxing.  My extended family did a big outing once.   Pretty memorable.  It started with a rampage of ground hornets who had been aggravated by a lawnmower.  My grandson sustained several stings. 

Later that evening my granddaughter spied a night intruder.  In a trembly voice she cried, “a snake!”   My son ground the baby copperhead to pieces.  But nature got him back the next day, when a squirrel in a tree relieved himself on my boy’s head.   The next morning, there was a loud ominous crack in a tree which dropped a massive limb barely behind us.

Then there were the honeybees that sought out my sweet daughter, and there was the earsplitting industrial hum that came from the power plant across the lake.  Actually, it was better for sleeping than white noise.  All that in one outing.  Fun!

I love to camp but I must admit that my favorite part is going home.  Roughing it is great for a time – a short time.  A human burrito sleeping bag is OK for a night and a charred hot dog is good once a year.  But there is nothing like packing up and going home.  

I suspect that is why Paul used a camping word to capture the way we go to heaven.  In Philippians 1 we find him conflicted wanting to continue his work on earth while longing for the comforts of his heavenly home. 

He wrote, “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: 23 I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, 24 but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body.”  NET Bible ®

Did he really say that – “dying is gain?”   

He believed that dying is a departure from this life and a move on to heaven.  The word depart (verse 23) was actually a camping term in Paul’s day.  It was used to describe an army that was breaking down their tents and moving out. 

In 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 Paul reminds us that our bodies are like tents – designed for a temporary stay – flimsy, tattered, and insufficient for the long haul.   Paul was ready to pack up his ratty tent and trade it in for the eternal home that Jesus had prepared for him.  (John 14:1-3)

The word depart was exceptionally colorful. Not only was it used of camping, it was also a nautical word descriptive of a ship that was being loosed from her moorings.  

In a similar way, we are moored to the pier of a place that is not our home.  It feels somewhat secure to be tied here, but the longer we remain, the longer we postpone the joys of being where we really belong. Death is the process of casting off the restraining ropes and sailing home.

Depart was also a legal term used to describe the release of someone from prison.  I think of some of the folks I care for as hospice chaplain.  Their health has declined and has imprisoned them in bodies to where they can’t even escape their bed.  For them death, becomes a benevolent liberator.

The word was also used with livestock.  It described the process of unyoking oxen.  They say a team of 2 oxen can pull about 12,000-13,000 pounds of weight.  That’s incredible. 

After a hard days work, I bet those beasts were relieved to have that heavy yoke removed.  Death does the same for us.  It relieves us of the backbreaking responsibilities of this life. 

All of us will face the prospect of death eventually.  When we belong to Christ, death can be regarded as more of a friend than a foe. 

It enables us to trade in our temporal tent for an eternal home.  It loosens the ropes that bind us to the dock of this life.  It releases us from the circumstances that imprison us and it relieves us of our burdensome yoke to give us rest. 

Paul makes a great argument for breaking camp.  I am looking forward to it.